Legacy of the Powerpuff Girls
by DconDK
Summary: It is the distant future. The descendants of the Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys live in seclusion in the asteroid belt because everyone on Earth hates them. They make life-risking missions to Earth to gather what they need to survive and preserve their way of life. After the death of their last leader, the group gets four new members and the adventure begins!
1. History

History

I was so peeved that Balrog would not let me in to see the birthing of the new puffruffs. He insisted most pompously that as the leader of the Puffruff clan, that he should be the first to introduce them to the world. I was peeved, yes, but I didn't argue with him. He was a good leader, and it wouldn't be easy to tell the young ones their position in life. We lived in a very harsh world. So harsh as to say that the only safe place for us to live, even exist, was a cave in the asteroid belt.

My name is Bane. I was named after the DC supervillain of the same name (as tradition dictated, we were all named with a B at the beginning). Me and my dwindling dysfunctional family are descendants of the Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys. A fact that I am quite proud of. I wish I could say that I built the memorial statue in the living room of our sanctuary, but it was Bunny and Belladonna. But I kept it clean and placed flowers in it every Sunday. It was sort of a religion for us, but I was the most active member. Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup were our heroes.

So how did we end up living in the asteroid belt? Because of an event 170 years ago, in 2009, when the Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys were teenagers.

The Girls were the guardian angels of the city of Townsville. And until they hit 12, the Boys were the opposite. Apart from the criminal population, the citizens of the city loved the girls. But it was only Townsville.

The rest of the world had surprisingly little knowledge of the Powerpuff Girls. The town of Citiesville had a certain disliking for them. And when an enemy of the Girls found that out… well, the rest is history.

I know you're asking… who was the villain that caused the downfall of Powerpuffkind? Was it Mojo Jojo, the insane chimpanzee genius? Was it… _Him? _The lord of darkness, the king of wickedness, the father of all lies, the Devil himself?! No it wasn't. It was Princess Morbucks.

From what history tells me, the Morbucks had one power that we never had: virtually infinite wealth. They used this wealth to bribe the town of Citiesville into starting a smear campaign across the globe against the Girls and the Boys.

Citiesville had a much stronger power of influence than Townsville. And once they started, it was no mercy for our heroes. Princess stirred up the world to anger and fear for the young supergirls. She had somehow managed to convince the world that they were space aliens.

The Boys didn't care all that much when the rest of the world started throwing hatred toward them, because they were used to it. However, it was very hard for the Girls, because their happiness was dependent on the love they received from others.

The oppression came to them in levels. Level one was receiving hate mail from millions across the world. From Australia to Asia to South America, letters came from every country with vile messages sometimes laced with harsh profanity. Professor Utonium managed to stop the mail flow with some help from the mayor's office.

Level two was people visiting Townsville just to be cruel to the Boys and the Girls. The Utonium household often suffered for this. Windows were cracked and graffiti was sprayed on the house behind the Girls and Professor's backs. The Boys, by this time, had been somewhat tamed by the Girls, and were living in the same household. Level one wasn't a big deal for the Boys, but level two was something else. People would be rude to their faces. Sometimes they would spit in their faces or throw rocks at them.

The Girls did their best to endure the cruelty, as did the Boys, but eventually it became too much for Butch. I don't blame him for what he did, even though it brought them to level three and us to level four.

The Puffs and the Ruffs had just left the cinemas after viewing X-Men Origins: Wolverine. They would have taken flight the moment they got outside if it weren't for Boomer and Buttercup arguing.

"That was disappointing." Buttercup muttered, her head down.  
"Are you kidding? That was awesome!" Boomer snapped back.  
"No it wasn't! That was boring, and made all the mystery go away."  
"What mystery?!"  
_"Wolverine, _dummy!"  
"So what if we know his past? Big deal! It's Wolverine."  
"It had Deadpool in it!" Buttercup almost yelled. "And they totally ruined him! He wasn't crazy or funny, he was just annoying!"

Blossom, Bubbles, Brick, and Butch stood around them just listening.

"Hey, who needs Deadpool when we got Butch?" Brick said. Boomer and Buttercup both laughed and stopped fighting just like that. Blossom and Bubbles giggled, and Butch just frowned.

Just then, a man about thirty years old stormed past them being very careful to rudely bump Bubbles to the side. "Outta my way, freaks!" he said. No one knew this man, so it was clear he wasn't from Townsville. He started whispering. "Honestly, they let these freaks of nature run free. They should all be sent to the moon."

Bubbles shot him a dirty glare. Blossom put her hand on Bubbles' left shoulder. "Just ignore him, Bubbles." she said softly. "He's not worth the time."

Brick and Boomer were very peeved, but Butch was furious. His disdain for these insults, no matter how small, had diminished. When the rest of the group took off for home, Butch stayed on the ground and approached the man. He jabbed the man's shoulder roughly, making the man turn around.

"What the hell do you want?!" he hissed. Butch didn't answer. He glared at the man for three seconds before kicking him in the chest and sending him flying across the street. He landed in the building opposite of the theater, despite the many witnesses. Butch then flew away.

The man didn't die. He was crippled for life.

Then came the angry mobs. Four months after Butch's attack on the man who turned out to be a union official, the Girls came home to find 150 people with torches and guns. The house was in ruins and the professor was dead. His corpse was desecrated covered with at least sixty bullet holes and counting.

The girls were in so much shock and pain that they didn't even realize that they had killed everyone at their house before it was too late. It was perhaps the biggest mistake they ever made. It meant that they would be branded murderers, and that Townsville would no longer be able to support them.

Before long they had grabbed the Boys, and retreated to the meteor they had once visited during Mojo Jojo's first attempt to take over Townsville. It was a smart move. They only visited Earth to steal food, clothes, and supplies to make their life there more comfortable. The entire planet had been transformed into a Powerpuff-hating and Rowdyruff-fearing danger zone.

Antidote X weapons were mass-produced and sent to every corner of the globe. It became a regular mission for all who live on the rock to fly down to Earth, infiltrate a Chemical X factory and steal some for the purpose of creating more Powerpuff Girls and Rowdyruff Boys. Because as it turned out, they were incapable of sexual reproduction.

They did the best they could to hold onto their happiness with their loved ones. They made more and more children to keep going.

That's why I was so excited. We haven't had any new arrivals for 20 years. When Blizzard was the leader of the family, he thought it would better to not welcome in any new members, for fear of losing them like we had lost so many others. But now that Balrog was the leader, we would have now four new members of the Puffruff clan. Two boys and two girls.


	2. Family

Family

(3rd person POV)

The explosion sounded and everyone knew that the new Powerpuff Girls and Rowdyruff Boys were born. The normally quiet vicinity was filled with sound. Some expressed excitement, while others groaned.

The four newborns looked around the white, empty room, standing on the table from which they had spawned. Two boys, two girls. One boy was turquoise with black hair which was curly at the end. The other was brown with shaggy, dark orange hair. One of the girls was a rich violet, and had sharp silver hair. It looked like she was wearing a pretty wig made of knives. The last one was navy blue, and had peach-colored hair tied up in a ponytail.

They looked around the room, confused but happy. The only thing of interest was the door, which they expected to open any moment to reveal their creator. So they were surprised when they heard a voice behind them and above their heads.

"You kids sure are pretty." The four children looked around to see an adult ruff floating above them with his hands behind his neck. He looked to be thirty years old. His color was crimson. He wore a crimson baseball cap turned backwards on his head, with his long, shaggy, orange hair running down underneath it. He wore an army tag and what looked like a watch.

"Oh, hi!" squealed the blue one.  
"Hey, wassup?" said the boys.  
"What's your name?" the blue one asked.

The adult smiled contently. "My name is Balrog. I'm the leader of our little family." he said with pride.

"Are you our dad, Mr. Balrog?" the blue one asked with an eager smile.  
Balrog chuckled slyly. "It doesn't really work that way, kiddo. You could say I'm your big brother. We're all brothers and sisters here. No moms or dads. Regardless, I am your superior. My word is law in this household. Is that understood?" Balrog folded his arms in a pompous manner.

"YES_SIR!"_ the turquoise one saluted.  
"Yes, Mr. Balrog." said the other three, politely.

Balrog descended to the table so that he was on eye-to-eye level with the children. "And now, to name our new babies." he teased.

The brown boy frowned. "Hey! We ain't no babies!" he yelled.  
Balrog looked at him. "Oh, yeah? You think you can take me on, little boy? Think you can take on a grown man?"

"Of course I can!" the brown boy shot into Balrog's chest sending them across the room. The boy got in eight furious shots before Balrog managed to get him off."

"Ha-ha!" he exclaimed, holding the boy by his arms. "Quite a feisty little fighter, aren't ya? I'm gonna name you Beast! 'Cause you're a beast!"

Beast withdrew from Balrog's grip threw his hands in the air. "Yeah!" he exclaimed.

Balrog went over to the other three. He looked at the turquoise boy and said "Bullseye. You are definitely a Bullseye." Bullseye grinned. Balrog turned to the eager girls. "And now to name our little lassies, eh? Hm…" Balrog put his hand to chin, ponderously.

"Ooh! Ooh! Name me something cool! Name me something cool!" the blue girl squealed, jumping up and down.

"Well, aren't you a dandy girl!" Balrog said, charmed.  
"Dandy and brandy like every good candy!" she replied in singsong.  
"Then Brandy it shall be." Balrog tapped her shoulder and Brandy jumped for joy. "So," Balrog clapped his hands together. "We have, Beast, Bullseye, Brandy, and…" Balrog turned to the purple girl, who was eyeing him expectantly. "Hmmm…" Balrog put his hands in his pockets. He felt something in his right pocket and pulled it out. It was a dagger. He looked at the purple girl's silver hair and then back at his knife. They were so similar. Balrog smiled. "… and Bayonet!" he declared, putting his knife away. "Howzat sound?"

Bayonet shrugged. "Uh, it's a cool name I guess."

Balrog floated back up to an intimidating height. "OK, kiddies, you're free to go and explore the sanctuary. Just don't go outside. We're in outer space."

Beast and Bayonet flew toward the door, with Brandy following. "Are there any other rules we should be aware of?" Bullseye asked.

"Ugh, boy scout!" Beast cursed under his breath.  
"Well… we used to have a list of written laws, but we hardly follow those any more. Most of them involve how you treat your brothers and sisters. Bottom line, respect your family and obey your leader. That's me. Now go on, kids! Everyone's eager to meet you!"

Balrog was right. As soon as Beast, Bullseye, Brandy, and Bayonet opened the door, they were met with a warm greeting from a pink puff who looked a lot like Blossom. "Oh my! Welcome, welcome! What're _your_ names?" The kids turned to take a look at her. She was tall, beautiful, and 28 years old.

Behind her, sitting in a computer chair, was an orange ruff with brown, straw-like hair. "Hey, wassup?" he greeted dryly, but in a friendly tone. "What'd Balrog name you?"

"I'm Beast, baby!"  
"My name is Bullseye!"  
"I'm Brandy!"  
"Bayonet. Wassup?"

"How very nice to meet you!" the pink puff grabbed all four of them in a big embrace. "My name's Barbie! You come to me if you need a mother's love, you got that?"

"Yeah, whatever." said Beast, pulling away. The foursome then took a look at the orange ruff. He was wearing goggles on his forehead. He looked to be 20 years old. "What's your name?"

"Me? I'm Breaker." he said. "As in 'circuit breaker.' I'm the handyman around here. I invent. I build, I fix, I break. I play video games. I eat. I sleep. That's all I do."

"So… you're a nerd?" Bayonet asked.  
"No!" Barbie scolded. "Breaker is not a nerd! He's a genius and should be res-"  
"It's alright, Barbie. She's right. I am a nerd. There's nothing wrong with that." Breaker said, despite the giggling he received from the kids.  
"Hey, kids, if wasn't for geniuses like Breaker, we'd still be living in a cave."

The kids, for the first time took a look around. They were in a laboratory. A few computers with large screens bordered the walls with control panels beneath them. A few unfinished inventions were lying on a workbench close to Breaker. No way would such a futuristic room belong in a cave.

"We're sorry, Breaker." the kids apologized.

"Alright you, get going! Bane's really excited to meet you." Barbie ushered them out the door. The foursome floated down the hallway and into the living room. There they saw a statue in the shape of Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup as 15-year-olds. There was a family portrait on the wall featuring 16 puffruffs and all the colors of the rainbow. There was a small tree in each corner of the room.

Two ruffs and one puff were sitting on a lavender sofa. The blue ruff, who had blonde, angel-winged hair, was playing a video game on a TV screen bigger than the screens in the lab.

The other ruff, who was dark gray had black hair with a cowlick, just sat back on the sofa looking bored along with the puff, who was burgundy and had long, silky chocolate hair. None of them took notice of the four newborns, even when they approached with the curiosity of which one was Bane.

"Hey do you guys know who Bane is? Is Bane one of you?" Brandy asked. For all she knew, Bane could've been a girl.

The burgundy puff and the black ruff looked at them and then looked away. The blue ruff didn't even budge from his game. "Bane? I think he died." he said dismissively.

"What?!" Brandy shrieked, panicking.  
"Relax, kid he's just joking." said the burgundy puff. "Bane is not here. My name's Burgundy. The blue joker here is Bomber and he's an idiot. And this is Blackjack. Say hi, bubs."

"Hi, Bomber! Hi, Burgundy! Hi, Blackjack!" the kids chorused. Blackjack just pushed Bullseye away from him.

"Hey, what gives, man?" Bullseye asked. Blackjack just turned over on the sofa and pretended he was deaf.

"Don't mind him." said Burgundy. "He's been brooding ever since we lost Bear. He was really heartbroken. You can't blame him."  
"You lost someone dear to you?" Bayonet asked, concerned.  
"We've lost many brothers and sisters, kid. Even though we have all the powers of Superman, Earth is a danger zone for our kind."  
"Then why go down there?" Bullseye asked.  
"We have no choice. Every month or so, we run out food, water, wood, and other supplies we need to make a comfortable living situation. So we have to go down to the planet, steal whatever we need, and make it back here without getting ambushed by the X-Cops. Sometimes we lose someone in the process." she said solemnly. Her voice was gruff, but caring.  
"How often do you lose someone?" Bayonet asked.  
"I think you'd be better off not knowing."

The kids backed away from this solemn group, feeling spooked and nervous. Had they been created to just to die?

_PEW! PEW! PEW! PEW!_

From out of nowhere, Bullseye was tackled to the floor by a purple ruff who started tickling him playfully. Beast was tackled by a magenta puff who tickled him as well. Bayonet was tackled and tickled by a forest green ruff, and so was Brandy by a yellow puff. All at the same time.

"Here come the Tickle-Bugs!" sang the magenta puff, over the children's laughter. The young ones tried to wrestle their way out of the older puffruffs, but were foiled and forced to submit to their tickle-torture. It was all good fun, but eventually, Beast had taken enough.

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" he yelled in between breaths.  
"Alright, guys that's enough! Let 'em go!" said a high voice.

The adults let the kids go. Now free from the distracting Tickle-Bugs, they took a good look those who decided to greet them like this. The purple ruff had chocolate hair and an admiring look on his face. The magenta puff had long, scruffy, rose-colored hair. She wore a hairband and a crazy look in her excited eyes.

The dark green ruff had spiky raven hair. He looked a lot like Butch, and he behaved similarly, twitching in excitement and panting like a dog, albeit in a much friendlier manner. The yellow puff had dark, dark, blue hair in the same style as Bullseye. Behind them was a sky blue puff with blonde hair in pigtails and a flower to compliment her sweet appearance.

"Wassup kiddos? Howzit going!?" the purple one greeted.  
"It's been pretty crazy." Bayonet answered.  
The magenta puff guffawed. "That's what I like to hear! Howdy-do, kids! My name is Berry! And I can proudly say that I am the craziest person here! Ha-ha!" To prove her point, Berry jumped on her head and started spinning like a top. "Weeeeeeee! Craziness makes the asteroid belt go 'round!" The kids all laughed. "Right, Brute?"

"That's right!" replied the green ruff. "Name's Brutus, small fries. I'm 2nd-in-command of the craziness outfit." The kids giggled. They thought it was gonna fun here.

"Oh you guys!" said the yellow puff, affectionately. She punched Brutus in the shoulder. She then kicked Berry in the face, as she was still spinning on it. She fell to the ground, showing no signs of aggravation.  
"Vomit Comet…" she muttered.  
The kids laughed again. "What's _your_ name?" Bullseye asked the yellow puff.  
"Me? I'm Bumblebee." Bumblebee folded her arms and tried to look proud. She did look like a bumblebee, especially with her striped black and yellow shirt.  
"And I'm Bunny. Very, very nice to meet you!" said the light blue puff, pushing past Bumblebee. She embraced the kids individually.

"Hi, Bunny!" The kids turned back to the purple ruff. "And what's your name, dude?" Beast asked.

The purple ruff smiled. "My name is Bane." he said. And he grabbed all four of them in a bear hug powerful enough to crush a car.


	3. Specialty

**Hello, good viewers! The previous chapter was meant to establish mostly establish characters. I had run out of time to introduce them all, so I left out Bud, Blaze, and Belladonna. Just so you know, Bud is a lime green puff, Blaze is a scarlet ruff who wears a bandanna on his head, and Belladonna is an indigo puff who dresses like a witch. That being said, enjoy!  
**

* * *

Specialty

(Bane's POV)

When Blizzard announced that Balrog would be his successor as head of the family, most of us were flabbergasted. Balrog? Why him? He was reckless, arrogant, and hot-headed. Why not Barbie, who was level-headed and motherly? Why not Blaze, who had the personality of a boy scout? Why not Bud, who had the strongest will and most outgoing nature? Why not Belladonna? Hell, why not me? Why not anyone else?! Being in in a position of power would fuel Balrog's arrogance and corrupt him!

But guess what? We were wrong.

Balrog took the role of leadership very seriously. It actually matured him a little. It made him compassionate and fatherly. He also became a little pompous, but that was a fair trade.

Not only was being the leader good for his character, but he was actually pretty good at it. In fact, after our first mission to Earth, I started to think that he was a better leader than Blizzard.

Blizzard would always have us load our ill-gotten gains into whatever spaceship we had, while he and Brace would be the only ones holding off whatever law enforcement that came at us. We were lower than pirates. Even pirates got to fight.

You see, all of us have a special power, and Blizzard's was cryokinesis. That meant he had ice powers like Ace from the Gangrene Gang had on one occasion. Brace's special power was the ability to transform into a crystal golem with arms that looked like chainsaws. She would be the defense, and Blizzard would be the offense. That's all.

Now that Balrog was in charge, we _all_ got to enjoy the thrill of battle. We just made Breaker's robot do all the grunt work.

This morning, Balrog called me, Blaze, Bud, Berry, Bomber, Brutus, Bunny, Blackjack, Bumblebee, and Burgundy to the simulator. I was excited, not only because the training exercises were fun, but because the kids would get to see me in action.

So we arrived in our uniforms, which included a headset hidden beneath these tied-off headbands with a holly pattern, a big black vest over whatever we were wearing, and camouflage pants with our colors.

We waited until in the empty room until Barbie brought the kids into the lab. And then Balrog spoke "Welcome, dear children." he said in a snooty tone. The kids, Barbie and Breaker were on the other side of the window. "Today you will learn what it is we do to preserve our way of life. You will learn, more or less, what we did to bring you those all presents. I'm not asking for gratitude. You will also learn what it is _you_ will have to do when you're old enough. Breaker, jack it up to level 10 and commence the simulation!" he commanded.

"Level 10." Breaker complied. "Beginning in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!" And with that, the empty white room around us disappeared. We were now standing on a battlefield before an armed fortress. The sky was red and black. There was fire, smoke, and rubble everywhere and enemy ground troops were approaching us fast.

"OK, peeps, listen up! Our mission is to infiltrate the fortress, steal the power supply, make it back here, and take out any enemy troops in our way! Melee Team, attack!" Balrog commanded. Bud, Brutus, Blaze, and Burgundy immediately rushed toward the approaching troops. The rattle of machines guns filled the already chaotic atmosphere. The Melee Team flew in zigzags to avoid the fire.

Bud rushed in, showing no mercy. She slammed the troops to the ground with a single swing of her arms and legs, while yelling comic book sound effects. "Bam! Kapow! Take that! Bang! Yow! Hiiiiiyah! Kaboom! Bang!" When she was clear of enemies within an arm's length, she clapped her hands together and released a bolt of chain lightning that took the lives of eight troops.

Brutus was an utter maniac on the battlefield. Hooting like a gorilla, he produced a green force field around him and started rolling around in it like a rat in a hamster ball. Within it, he crushed all soldiers in his seemingly aimless path, as if they were crushed by a giant bowling ball.

Blaze had grabbed the nearest soldier and held him in front of him as a human shield. But the soldiers did not stop shooting at him as he had evidently hoped. So Blaze inhaled deeply and exhaled. The result was a flamethrower jet that tore up the ground before his batch of soldiers. The soldiers cowered before the flames, huddling close together, which was what Blaze was waiting for. He flew to them and swiftly clobbered them to the ground. He was merciful enough to just knock them out and not slay any.

Burgundy was not so merciful. As she flew toward her first targets, she yelled "Ya like violence, dogs?!" The men shot at her, which annoyed her greatly. "THEN YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE ME!" she screamed, madly. Two three-foot sword-like protrusions extended from her forearms. She sliced one soldier in half and decapitated another. She charged into the mass of the group, getting plenty of bullet wounds, but dishing out the deadliest attacks against our foes. She was a freaking Wolverine!

The rest of us provided long-range support with our laser vision. "Balrog, we got enemy flyers coming in at 11:00." said Bumblebee. "Should I engage them?"

"Affirmative." Bumblebee took to the air. I saw 12 fighter jets coming at us. Bumblebee started vibrating, producing yellow shockwaves from her body. When these shockwaves made contact with the jets, they went out of control. Many of the jets plummeted to the ground at Mach speed. Two jets crashed into each other. One jet accidently shot off its missiles and one of them hit another jet. Bumblebee, Berry, Bomber, and I laughed at that, but we stopped when the other missile almost hit us.

"Balrog, we got tanks coming in fast!" reported Blaze. We could all hear him through the headset.

Tanks nowadays were robotic. They could move at the speed of ATV and they carried deadly laser cannons. One shot from them could stun us, making us drop out of the sky. Two could knock us out. And three could kill us.

"Alright! Melee Team, I want you get behind Brutus! Blackjack! There's bound to be a mother ship controlling the tanks! I need you find out and take it out!" Balrog commanded.

"I'm going to need some cover fire!" Blackjack requested.

"Already on it!" Berry chimed. She flew to the ground, grabbed a (literal) truckload of rubble, and shoved it down her throat. She then hopped into my arms and I held her like a crossbow.

"Ready, Blackjack!" I said. Blackjack took off with me and Berry following. Blackjack flew low, with me and Berry following at about twenty feet above him. After fifteen seconds of flying, the tanks came into view.

"Pull my finger." said Berry. She didn't have any fingers, but I knew what she meant. I pulled on Berry's right arm like it was the trigger to a gun. The she opened wide and made this sound: _PUCKA! PUCKA! PUCKA! PUCKA! PUCKA! PUCKA! PUCKA! PUCKA! PUCKA! _The rubble she had recently consumed came shooting of her mouth like a machine gun. It was like her stomach was the stock and her throat was the barrel. I could see it now: Berry, the Human Gattler!

The rubble hit the tanks directly in the main parts of the cannon, rendering them incapable of firing.

I focused on taking out the tanks and avoiding their fire, while Blackjack, being the shadow he is, managed to slip by the tanks stealthily and head straight for the mother ship. The mother ship looked like one tough nut to crack, which was why Balrog asked Blackjack to do it.

Instead of try to rip it open like a gorilla (like Brutus would have tried), Blackjack turned unto a shadow and phased right through the hull of the mother ship. That's right. Blackjack could ghost! Even though we could usually break through any surface we needed to, I couldn't help but feel jealous of Blackjack's special power.

Blackjack managed to make the mother ship self-destruct, causing all the remaining tanks to shut down. It was just as well, because Berry had run out of ammo.

After taking heavy fire and shelter beneath a deactivated tank, the three of us noticed that we were very close to the fortress. The defensive walls were 40 feet high and 150 feet long. Pooh! They think they're so _big_ and _tough._

"Balrog, the tanks have been deactivated." Blackjack reported.  
"Excellent, Blackjack! Hey, while you're at it, ghost into the fortress and retrieve the power source!" Balrog commanded.  
"Ugh. Sure." Blackjack took off toward the fortress.  
"That's 'Yes _sir, _Mr. Balrog!'" Balrog corrected.

Blackjack ignored the leader and prepared to ghost through the wall. Only, when he tried that, he bounced right of the wall. He caught himself in midair. "The fortress has an ecto-shield up! I can't phase through it!" Blackjack reported.

"Now it's _my_ time to shine!" came Bomber's excited voice.  
"That's right, Bomber! Nuke that wall!" Balrog urged.

Berry and I looked back to see Bomber charging recklessly toward the wall. He was glowing blue and was covered with static discharge. "I am Bomber!" he yelled as he passed over us. "BLOW ME UP!"

As soon as Bomber hit the fortress wall, he exploded. A blue, one-megaton blast ripped apart a third of the wall. "Ha! Ha! Ha! My brother blew up!" Berry cackled. Several black pieces of goo that were present in the explosion reversed their direction and came back together. Bomber rematerialized right there. I groaned. There was another special power I couldn't use.

"The fortress walls are down." Blackjack reported.  
"Excellent. Wait for the rest of us before going in." Balrog commanded.

Blackjack and Bomber came flying back to me and Berry. We hid behind the tank for five seconds before we saw the rest of the team coming in. Berry and Bomber took off ahead of the team, the crazies, while Blackjack and I joined the speeding lights as they flew overhead.

We entered the fortress through the massive hole in the wall (duh). We each seized several soldiers and took them out (by KO or fatality, depending on the ruthlessness of my comrades) before the area was clear.

"Alright, the power source should look something an electric crystal coated in a metal case. I want you to split into teams and spread looking for it!" Balrog commanded.

"Uh, if that description is correct, then that won't be necessary." Bumblebee said.

"Excuse me?" Balrog said, sounding a little annoyed. We all turned to look at Bumblebee, who was pointing at Balrog's description. The power source looked to wedged into the wall, with two power cords connected to it. "Oh. Well that makes things easy. Pull it out!" Bud and Blaze attempted to do so, but the thing seemed to be stuck in there good. "Argh, do we really need to learn how to disassemble the damn thing?! Bane, go see if you can find some way to unplug it!"

I started to float over to the power source, but Burgundy stopped me. "Stand back, lunch meat. Let the pro show you how it's done." she grumbled. At first I was confused, because she didn't know the first thing about technology.

She floated the rest of the way over there, unsheathed her swords and slashed the power cords keeping the engine stationary. She cut around the engine and pulled it out easily. "OK, that works too. Come on let's go." Bud and I pouted, our pride hurt. We both sported sour moods on our way back to the starting point, where the simulation ended. Our clothes became clean and untorn again as did our bodies. It all happened in our heads.

We all started congratulating each other. "High five!" Bumblebee held her hand up to me. Not wanting to leave her hanging, I reluctantly slapped her hand. "Low five!" she requested. I low-fived her as well. "Down low!" She brought her hand down lower. I wasn't going to let her win this time. I swung my arm as fast as I could, but I still missed. "Too slow!"

"D'argh!" I yelled, regaining my anger. Bumblebee laughed and went to pull the same trick on Bunny.

Bud was angry because Burgundy was the only one tougher than her, with those blades, which was also the reason I was mad. Everyone in the group had a chance to use their special power, except for me and Balrog.

But at least Balrog _knew _what his special power was. I didn't know mine. Hell, I didn't even know if I had one. Even Barbie and Breaker knew what theirs' were. I was hoping to able to show off to the kids. Because that's what guys do. They show off their unique abilities to the impressionable. But since I was the only one who didn't showcase a unique ability, I was embarrassed to show myself to the kids.

When we opened the door and came back into the labs, the kids practically burst with excitement.

"Wow, that so awesome!"  
"Yeah! When Blackjack went through that giant robot crab!"  
"And when Bomber went boom!"  
"That was like awesome when you cut that guy's head off, Burgundy!"  
"How'd you make those jets go crazy?!"  
"And the kaboom! That lightning was so cool, Flower Bud!"  
"Don't call me Flower Bud, Brandy. It's just Bud, as in 'Buddy.'"  
"You were like a dragon Blaze! With that fire breath, you earned your name!"  
"Thank you, Beast."

I walked away, feeling ashamed. My plan was to shut myself up in the bedroom I shared with all of the guys in the house (except for Balrog, who now resides in the master bedroom).

But before I could get there, Balrog took me aside in the hallway. "What is it?" I asked.  
"Hey, Bane. Brother. Can I ask you something important?" he asked.  
As long as it had nothing to do with the special powers. "Sure what?"  
"I was wondering if you would be interested in taking my place as leader of the family whenever I go."  
My eyes widened at that. "Me?"  
Balrog looked at me, unfazed. "Yes, you. My abilities and judgment as leader is to be respected, and I choose you to be my successor!"  
Was this really happening? "You're choosing me? Why not Bud or Blaze? And why me?"  
"Because Bud is too reckless and Blaze's will is too easily manipulated. I'm choosing you because I've seen how much you love the kids. I've seen your humility. You have good ideas for the family. You have dedication. That's why I'm choosing you." he explained, calmly. Then he added in a firmer tone, "So. Are you interested in the position or not?"

I hesitated for a moment before accepting. "Yes."

"I don't buy it. Show me that you're interested. Punch me in the face as hard as you can." And I did so, this time without hesitation. I slugged him so hard I think I made him mad. But he disguised that and quickly said "Now that's what I'm talking about!" He floated away, leaving me feeling better.


	4. Memory

Memory

Even though most of us are pleased with Balrog's leadership, I can't help but feel grievous every now and again for Blizzard. Maybe it's just me being sentimental, but I felt that Blizzard was a permanent piece of the puzzle that was lost forever.

He was the opposite of Balrog. Shortly after we completed our last training exercise, Barbie took Balrog aside and began scolding him for making the kids watch us in the simulator.

"Are you insane?!" I heard her hiss. Yes, I was eavesdropping.  
"What?" Balrog spat, clearly annoyed.  
"You should know better than to expose 5-year-olds to that kind of violence. It was like making them watch an R-rated movie!"  
"I made them watch so they can learn that this is what we do!"  
"Yeah, well, what if they take that the wrong way?"  
"What the hell are you talking about?!"  
Barbie groaned. "In case you haven't noticed, Beast and Brandy have started acting out in violence. They've been harassing the adults in innocent, but violent ways. I've done studies online that say if children are exposed to violent situations, then they will learn to be violent by nature."  
"That's garbage. That's total garbage. Kids don't pick up these habits from video games. They pick 'em up from realistic TV shows where people lose their heads every other episode."  
"But these kids were born yesterday! They're as uneducated as any human infant!"

Yes, we actually referred to those on Earth as humans, as if they were an entirely different species. Some up here (and down there) would argue that they were.

"Look! I didn't see you putting up a fight! You were just as cooperative as Breaker! Why didn't you stop me if you thought it was a bad idea?!"  
"Because I trusted you to make the right decision! That's what leaders are supposed to do!" Whoa, Barbie, you're crossing the line there.  
"ARE YOU QUESTIONING MY LEADERSHIP?!" I heard Balrog slap Barbie and I walked away.

Anyway, like I said, Balrog and Blizzard were opposites. Blizzard would not have argued with Barbie. He would shut anyone up if they disagreed with us instead of arguing to the last word.

At a young age, Blizzard discovered his special power, which, as I mentioned before, was cryokinesis. It made him incredibly powerful whenever he could use it. But he couldn't always use it. Sometimes he could cover an entire building with ice. Other times he couldn't make an ice cube for his drinks.

After some investigation, he discovered that his power only worked when the temperature was low, and when his emotions were bottled up and dormant. So he requested a transformation into Mr. Freeze. As a result, his skin became bluish-gray, and his body unable to relax or sleep in warm temperatures. Blizzard's scientist, who was not Breaker, created a garment that would keep him cool even in the warmest of temperatures.

He became cold and unfeeling. He showed neither joy nor sorrow. He showed no excitement and no fear. He showed no love, but we knew he cared for us very deeply. That's why he became the leader.

I remember an experience from about two years ago. It started out as a normal burglary mission: to steal clothes, food, what was on the list of requested items, and anything else we thought was worth our short, precious time.

In the dead of night, we flew into Earth's orbit on a ramshackle shuttlecraft constructed by Breaker. We landed on top of a Costco in a city I don't remember. Blaze, Brutus, Bumblebee and I stepped outside onto the roof. Blaze and Brutus used their eye lasers to cut a hole in the roof just big enough to push the craft through. Bumblebee and I grabbed the two grappling hooks on top of the shuttle and hooked them onto roof. We then pushed the craft through the hole in the roof, and the craft hung in the air, supported by the hooks. This was a strategy to avoid being taken out from the air.

All of us on the roof flew in quickly. The shuttle opened up and Blizzard, Balrog, Blackjack, Bud, Bunny, Burgundy, and Brace exited the ship. We were all wearing our uniforms, except for Blizzard who wore a heavy coat over his vest. Instead of flashlights, we used (stolen) night vision goggles to see in the dark store.

"Everyone," Blizzard said in a robotic, menacing voice. "Acquire your assigned quarries swiftly. You have ten minutes. At precisely that time, we will leave anyone who isn't in the shuttle." We knew at heart that he was bluffing, but it was pretty motivational nonetheless.

We shot off through the store, collecting the necessities. Mine and Bumblebee's job was to retrieve the food. I collected three rotisserie chickens, five pumpkin pies, two boxes of hot-pockets, four bottles of apple juice, and four frozen pizzas. Bumblebee retrieved two jars of honey, six pineapples, five bags of apples, eight different boxes of breakfast cereal, and a pig. Yes, they sell dead pigs at Costco in the 2170s.

We quickly flew our loot to the shuttle and went back to get some more.

"Good thing you think healthy." I said to Bumblebee.  
"Yeah. It's easy for men to forget that fruit can make quite the antacid." she replied. "But good thing you think yummy, too. It's hard to enjoy ourselves up there. Sometimes the only thing I can do to relieve my boredom is eat. And fruit is booooooooooring!"  
"Maybe we can steal a few game cards and download some new video games." I offered.  
"Don't they have to be activated at a register to be any use?"  
"Did you forget that live with Breaker?"  
"Yes, I did." she replied matter-of-factly. "I did forget that we live with Nerdzilla."

We both laughed. But our laughter was cut short when we noticed red lights flashing through the sliding glass doors at the entrance. It was the X-Cops. We just knew it was. Blizzard had always taught to us to assume the worst.

"Blizzard, we have company." Brutus reported.  
"Find a hiding spot and stay put. Brace and I will handle this." Blizzard commanded, emotionless.

Of course, they would handle this. Only the two most overpowered puffruffs would be ever allowed to fight.

Most of us hid in the higher levels of the food sections. Bunny and Blaze hid in the clothes sections, hoping that their attire would blend them in with the clothes they were hiding in, which I thought was dumb. Blackjack hid in plain sight. He just stood at the entrance of the store and turned into a shadow. I watched as some of the X-Cops walked right through him with noticing. It would have been funny if we weren't fearing for our lives.

I waited for the cops to clear. My heart was beating heavily against my chest. It wasn't logical for a super-powered being to be so afraid.

I jumped when I heard a yelp. Then I heard an icy, flashy wind. No doubt one of the cops had run into Blizzard and was flash-frozen solid. Running into Blizzard at night, especially when he was wearing those red goggles, was as terrifying as running into the Slenderman.

We had waited twelve minutes. Blizzard did his best to sneak attack many cops, but he couldn't be everywhere at once without exposing himself. So when the cops came down the aisle that I was hiding over, I became really impatient. "Bumblebee, knock over the merchandise on the wooden pallet on my signal." I said into the headphone when I heard Blizzard using his noisy ice powers.

"Got it." Bumblebee replied. She was on the aisle opposite of me. We waited for the cops to finish shining their fancy flashlights around the aisle. I felt like I was in Batman Arkham City. "Stand by… Now!" I hissed. Bumblebee and I pushed down the pallets and their contents down onto the cops below us.

It just so happens that we had pushed down 500 liters of Coca-Cola each. It crushed about seven cops, while Bumblebee's pallet crushed five. Unfortunately we made quite the ruckus and we had exposed ourselves. Flashlights shined upon both of us and we thought we were screwed.

Luckily, Blizzard got to them before they could shoot us. He unleashed a (ahem) blizzard upon the troops, encasing them in a glacier. "You two have much to answer for." he said to us. He was right. We had disobeyed him, because we were afraid. And we almost paid the price for it.

Suddenly, we heard Bunny scream. We heard it first over the headset, but we could her cries of distress echoing through the store. Blizzard, Bud, Balrog, and I quickly flew over to Bunny, who was lying on the ground, unconscious, with a red-orange dart in her neck. She had been injected with Antidote X.

Brace was at her side in her golem form, protecting her from more gunfire. Blizzard got there just in time and froze everyone solid, except for one man, whose head was miraculously spared. "Ah! Ah! Cold… c-c-cold…" I could hear him gasping.

"How is she?" Blizzard asked as if asking if dinner was ready yet.  
"She's unconscious, but she's OK. We'll need Barbie's help if she ever wants to fly again." Brace reported.  
"Very well." Blizzard replied. "Board the shuttlecraft! Now!"

"Wait!" cried the cop who was left in the ice, freezing to death. "Let me out-t-t! P-please!" he begged.  
Taking pity on the poor man, I immediately floated over to him and prepared to thaw the ice out with my laser beams. "Leave him." Blizzard coldly commanded. We all stared at Blizzard in shock. "He is an enemy. People like him are the reason we live in harshness. Now he is paying for his sins."

"But the threat is ended. He doesn't need to die." I argued. Blizzard stared at me. His stone-cold, pitiless face implied that my words just bounced off of him. "Come on, Blitz, show a little mercy." I pleaded with him.

"Mercy is for the weak." Blizzard spat. We all looked at him as if we didn't know him "If I had shown mercy, there'd be a lot less of us around. Now into the shuttlecraft! Unless you wish to join him." Blizzard raised his hand, which was coated in blue electricity.

I shot the frozen cop a sympathetic glance. "Sorry, man. I'm just following orders. I'm sure you were doing the same." I couldn't tell if it the desired effect on him.

"Bane! Hurry up!" Balrog demanded. I took to the air and flew into the shuttlecraft.

After that, it was hard to for some of us to look at Blizzard the same way. I couldn't help but think that if we did show mercy to that man, things might have changed a little. It was at the back of my mind until Brace and Blizzard went on a solo mission that went disastrously.

We didn't find out the mission was a failure until we turned on the news. Like so many our ancestors, Brace and Blizzard's execution was being broadcasted to the entire world.

We were all heartbroken and appalled to find our two strongest members in their underwear, on their knees, stripped of their powers, and in line for the disintegration chamber. Brace looked furious, but Blizzard looked sad. The ruler of the world, Baron Morbucks, gave this horrible speech about how great he was and how righteous executing these monsters would be.

Then Brace was placed in the disintegration chamber. Baron asked for her last words, but she remained silent. She looked at the camera and shot the world the worst death glare she could. Then that horrible machine was turned on. We didn't dare look at the TV. Within a minute, Brace was no more than an ounce of sugar, spice, and everything nice.

Then Blizzard was placed in the same chamber looking very, very depressed. Baron asked him for his last words. And I will never forget what they were.

"Only to my family." he answered. He turned toward the camera with puppy-dog eyes. "I have failed you, my beloved brothers and sisters. I wish there were another way to make it up to you. But I can only wish for your success. You've been led by a cold heart for too long. Perhaps, what the family needs now is a hot head. Good luck, my brethren." It was so touching.

Blizzard was disintegrated and Blackjack threw a cinder block at the TV. No one scolded him. We had all broken down.

Barbie was crying in Breaker's shaky arms. Bunny sobbed loudly on Brutus's sunken shoulder. I held Bumblebee as we both fought to keep our tears in. Bomber and Berry bawled like babies. Burgundy and Blackjack were the only ones who successfully kept themselves from crying. Bud and Blaze ran out of the room, not wanting to show their grief. Belladonna went to Balrog for support but he turned his back on her.

After the soap opera, everyone went to bed. I took out my journal and wrote and logged Brace and Blizzard's names into a list of reasons why I do what we do. And every single reason in that book started with a capital B.


	5. Strategy

Strategy

Balrog had been brooding in the master bedroom ever since the fight with Barbie. And Barbie spent the next half-hour crying. I wanted to know what exactly happened after I left when it sounded like Balrog had slapped her.

So I went into the laboratory about an hour after the fighting ceased. Barbie was sitting on the couch, the only thing in the room that wasn't related to science or technology, while Breaker worked on his robot on the worktable in the middle of the room. She looked rather distressed. She was leaning over, with her long orange creating a curtain around her face.

I walked up to Barbie and tapped her gently on the shoulder. She ignored me. So I sat down next to her and gave her my signature bear hug. When I released her, she gasped for air. "Thanks." she said. Works every time.

"Of course." I said. "I heard fighting." It was important to play dumb, and convince her that I was on her side.

"Yeah. I thought he exposed the kids to a little too much in the simulator."  
"Waddaya mean? They weren't in the simulator."  
"No, but they watched it like it wasn't real."  
"It was a simulation, Barb."  
"You know what I mean. It was like a movie to them. And kids are… impressionable."  
"Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup used to think violence was the answer everything."  
"No they didn't!"  
"Well, everything evil."  
"Yes, and look where that got us."  
"Hey, if it didn't happen, we would never have been born. So at least some good- Oh my, did Balrog hit you?"  
She stayed silent for three seconds. "Yeah… he did. I suppose it was my fault."  
"You mean to say that you deserved it?"  
"Um, maybe. I don't know. When I brought leadership into the picture, he just turned redder than his eyes. "  
"Ah, yes. Balrog the Red Hulk." I grumbled. It was his special power. "I suppose one could've been more careful than her ego would allow. We wouldn't want any more deaths in the family because someone was defying our leader."  
Barbie sulked. "Ugh. Why did Blizzard put _him_ in charge?"  
"I asked myself that many times when he announced it. I quit when I realized that he was more accustomed to getting us what we want over what we need. He's strong and he knows how to hold the family together."  
"So what you're saying is that Blizzard wanted to keep us safe and Balrog wants us to be happy?"  
"Exactly. We've been in much more dangerous situations under Balrog's command, but it paid off! If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have Beast, Bullseye, Brandy, or Bayonet!"  
"You sure love those kids, don't you?"  
"Hell yeah, those kids are awesome!"  
"So what are you trying to tell me, Bane?"  
I paused for a moment to figure that out. I wasn't prepared for that. "Balrog's our leader. But he's not perfect. You know every time our leader dies, we have to show the utmost respect to them by obeying the one they choose to be in charge."  
"Yeah, I know. Maybe I'm just jealous that Blizzard picked him instead of me."  
How interesting. Barbie wanted the leadership position. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I was next in line for the throne. "Try to make the best of it." I gave her another bear hug, and left. "Later."

I walked out of the laboratory and passed though the living room where Bud, Blaze, Bomber, and Bumblebee were playing a video game. Their clothes were drenched in sweat. And if I had a nose, I'm sure they would all stink.

I walked down the hallway opposite to the one that led to the lab. There was only one door on the right side and two on the left. The one on the right led to the girls' bedroom, and the two on the left to the boys' and the children's. The door at the end led to the master bedroom, where Balrog undoubtedly was.

I wanted to know what he was thinking right now. So I patiently sat by the door and used my super-hearing to eavesdrop on whatever he was doing in there. He seemed to be pacing around. He started talking after 20 minutes.

"What to do next… Should we move in and take out the Morbucks? Yes… that sounds like a good idea… but incredibly dangerous. Wait, that wouldn't accomplish anything anyway. What we need is a spy in the government. Yeah… We should like take Baron out, and make sure that whoever takes his place is on our side! But how would… how would we get someone off of the Morbucks' side? He's got like thirty trillion dollars. That's a lotta money… Wait! That's it!"

But I didn't get to hear what 'it' was. Beast, Bullseye, Brandy and Bayonet had tackled me to the ground. "Gotcha!" Bayonet yelled. And they started giggling.

"Hey no fair!" I yelled playfully. Just then, Balrog opened the door and caught me red-handed. I thought I was screwed. No matter what I said, Balrog would accuse me of eavesdropping and scream his head off at me.

"Waddaya doing, Bane?" he asked, eyeing me suspiciously.  
"Nothing. The kids just tackled me down the hall. The little joy toys!" I grabbed Bullseye and gave him a head noogie. Bullseye giggled and pulled out of my grasp.  
"Then why are you all the way down here?"  
"Beast's an animal, what can I say?" The kids looked confused.  
Balrog took a moment to look around, his face a very skeptical one. He looked at the kids and then back at me. Then his expression became indifferent. "OK, I'll buy that." I waited until he walked away from me, towards the lab.

"What were you talking about?" Bullseye asked. "You were already over here when we HUT-HO-HEAVED you!"  
"Yes, I know. I was spying on Balrog. Don't tell him that, though."  
"So are you a sneak and a spy?" Bayonet asked.  
"No!" I lied defensively. "Honestly, you kids have no common sense!"  
"WE'VE GOT PLENTY OF COMMON SENSE!" Beast shouted, apparently enraged by my comment.  
"Yeah, we just choose to ignore it!" Brandy chirped, causing all four of them to giggle cutely.

Not wanting to deal with any more nonsense, I faked being charmed by their cuteness. "Oh you kids are so naughtily adorable!" I extended my arms, threatening them with my devastating bear hugs. They took off like birds. I then realized that the kids had opted to hover at all times while the adults usually kept their feet on the ground.

I went into the living room. Bomber had apparently ditched the gaming party. "Hey guys, can I play?" I asked.

"Uh, Bomber just went to get a drink or something." Bud said.  
"So that's a no?  
"Well…" Blaze pondered. "I could give you my turn for a bit."  
"Oh no it's fine." I dismissed him, suddenly feeling curious as to where Balrog had went. "You guys seen Balrog?"  
"I think he went to the lab."

Figures. He'd probably gone to apologize to Barbie. On Blaze's note, I went back to the lab. When I got there I saw him talking to Breaker, like he was giving orders.

"…and I want machines that can cuff bodies together…" Balrog commanded.  
"Yeah…" Breaker mumbled.  
"…and magnetic force field devices…"  
"Piece of cake…"  
"…and I'd like those computer goggles that scan everything and help you complete your mission like in those Batman games. Know what I'm talking about?"  
"Uh, sure, but that'd make it impossible to fire your eye lasers with destroying the goggles."  
"Then make them for one eye only! Also I'd like everyone to have a machine that enhances their special power."  
"Like what?"  
"Use your imagination."  
"What about Bane? He has no special power!" Evidently, neither of them had noticed me. "Ahem!" I grunted.  
Breaker looked at me and quickly added "…that we know of!"  
"See previous answer!" Balrog answered.  
"I dunno know man… that's a lotta work." Breaker started to look nervous.  
Balrog looked at him, unpleased. "I can see that Blizzard's lack of faith in you has made you lazy! But guess what? I still have one final request!"  
"And what's that, great leader? Breaker said sarcastically.  
"Pills! An immunization to Antidote X!"  
Breaker's eyes, which were half-closed all this time, shot open. "That's a tall order there, sir. I'm going to need a lot of both Antidote _and _Chemical X! And some more chemicals to-"  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Balrog interrupted. "Just write me a list of the junk ya need and we'll get it for ya. Barbie!"

Barbie, who was at her computer, turned around in her chair and faced Balrog with an irritated look. "Yes?"  
"I need you to research the government officials of all the major countries. See if there's anyone we might be able to get on our side by means of bribery or persuasion."  
"Bribery? We don't have any money. Who's gonna betray Morbucks for us?"  
Balrog smirked. "I got it all figured it out, baby."

He had it all figured out? That actually gave me hope. Balrog was more ambitious than Blizzard. I slid out of the lab feeling giddy.

Two minutes later, I heard Balrog's voice on the loudspeaker. "ALL RIGHT, MUGS! GET YOUR BUTTS AND ASSES DOWN TO THE ASSEMBLY ROOM ON THE TRIPLE! BIG BAD BALROG, YOUR LEADER, HAS COME UP WITH A GENIUS PLAN! I WANT ALL OF YOUS TO HEAR IT SO'S WE CAN PLAN OUR NEXT COUPLE OF MISSIONS! LET'S GO! LET'S GO!"

Sheesh dude, you don't have to deafen us. A trap door opened up in the middle of the living room floor. I was the first to jump through it, interested in what Balrog had to say.

I landed in a virtually empty room. The walls were a pale green and made of tsteel. It was so much darker than up in the living area. I guessed it was before Breaker was born that this room had any maintenance done.

Belladonna was already there. She was definitely the strangest member of our family. We hardly ever saw her. She didn't sleep in the Girls' room with the rest of them. She slept down here. Her sleeping bag was rolled up in a corner.

Her attire consisted of an indigo dress, go-go boots and a witch's hat. But that was nothing compared to her skin. Like Blizzard, her skin was different from ours. Her skin was stained a sea green.

She had been for years laboring under the delusion that she was a witch ever since she discovered her special power: telekinesis. Despite our insistence that she wasn't, she requested a transformation into the wicked witch of the west. So Breaker simply dyed her skin green and she was happy.

But we didn't all like it. She didn't behave any different, but she was still so much more eerie. I remember her first meeting with the kids. She greeted them with a warm welcome like the rest of us, but Brandy screamed in terror anyway.

Anyway, I took my place in line at the far right end. We were ordered alphabetically. Not counting Balrog, I was first in line. My brothers and sisters came floating in a minute after I had jumped down. Barbie took her place next to my left, and Belladonna took her next to Barbie. We still loved her so it didn't make us feel uncomfortable in anyway.

Berry, Blaze, Breaker, Brutus, Bud, Bumblebee, and Bunny all lined up. Then Balrog came down and mentally took role. "Hey!" he yelled. "We're missing Blackjack, Bomber, and Burgundy! Bella, get them!"

"Yessir!" Belladonna raised her arms. A bit of purple static covered her arms. Her dress had sleeves, so we only saw the static that covered her (would-be) hands. Five seconds later, Blackjack, Bomber and Burgundy came floating down caught in clouds of the strange energy, utterly helpless and yelling angrily.

Belladonna released them and they fell to the ground. "Now that my laziest sister and my two laziest brothers have so kindly decided to join us, maybe we can begin the lecture!" Balrog yelled.

The three puffruffs picked themselves up and grumpily took their places in line. Blackjack went in between Berry and Blaze, Bomber between Blaze and Breaker, and Burgundy at the end beside Bunny.

Then Balrog began pacing back and forth pompously. "I was always thinking about ways to improve our lives. Many of them involved explosions." he started. Brutus, Bomber and Berry chuckled. "But then I realized that we need to beat Baron Morbucks at his own game. Tomorrow morning, me and a select group of yous will be undertaking our most dangerous mission yet: raiding a chemical X plant!"

We were all taken back by that, I could tell. But we remained quiet as the etiquette (or Balrog) dictated.

"You will have to be fast, furious, and merciless. We are going after supplies that will allow Breaker and Barbie to develop a drug that renders us immune to Antidote X. Once we have this drug, it will be safe to pull off our most important mission ever!"

We all became tense as we waited for his answer. But he just kept pacing back and forth silently. It became quite annoying. "Well what is it?!" Brutus yelled.

"I'm glad you asked, Brutus." Balrog said, much to my surprise. Usually, Balrog would berate someone for speaking out of line during these briefings. "We are going to the city of Townsville. We will infiltrate Morbucks Manor. We will raid the vault within the mansion, taking as much cash as we can carry! And then, we will incinerate the remainder of the Morbucks' fortune!" We all turned to each other in excitement. This idea seemed revolutionary, it was so clever.

Balrog continued "All of Baron Morbucks' assets are liquid. He rules the world through bribery, as did his snobbish, stuck-up ancestors dating all the way up to Princess Morbucks. If we strip him of his wealth, his empire will crumble! He will be ruined! We will have the power of bribery! And with time, we will be allowed to set foot on Earth. We will have access to fresh air and freedom! And with luck, we will be able to restore the legacy of the Powerpuff Girls!" Balrog pumped his fist and turned to us with a look of determination. He had fire in his eyes and his hair.

We all cheered and yelled, even Barbie. Like Blizzard predicted, what we needed now was a hot head leading us. That was probably his best decision, putting Balrog in charge.


	6. Rivalry

**So sorry I'm late! I've hit sort of a writer's block. But anyway, here's the next chapter. Please read, review, and of course Enjoy! I promise that it will continue!**

* * *

Rivalry

Tomorrow morning was supposed to be the commencement time for our mission. So Balrog saw fit to put all the adults through a training exercise. "Alright all of yous!" he yelled over our shouting. "Shut up and get in the simulator!" We all wavered, confused by his sudden command. I inquiringly looked at Barbie, who shrugged. "Hey you heard me, ladies! Get in the training module before I go Hulk!"

Since that was a legitimate threat, we were quick to fly out of the assembly room and into the simulator. Breaker and Barbie took their places at the computers, when Balrog commanded that they partake in the exercise firsthand as well. This was surprising, as they were more of the intellectual assets. We waited impatiently as they were not so used to putting on their combat gear and took some time getting it on.

"Guys vs Girls. Dusk. Heavy rain. Oversea." Balrog commanded Breaker's robot, and it typed those settings into the computer.

The white room around us transformed again. This time we were all floating 100 feet above a large body of water. There was no land to be seen in any direction. It was dark and pouring rain. Our vision was slightly affected by these conditions. Blackjack seemed to be the only guy not to be bothered by it.

I say he was the only guy because the girls were placed fifty feet away from the guys and I couldn't read their expressions.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen and Brutus!" Balrog shouted. Brutus chuckled. "The main objective of this exercise will be to take down all members of the opposite sex! Teamwork and strategy will be vital to those who want to win. If you fall into the water, you're out until the exercise is over! Robot, start the countdown!"

"Mission beginning in 10 seconds, 9, 8, 7," On my side, Balrog, Blackjack, Blaze, Bomber, Breaker, Brutus and I gave nasty faces towards Barbie, Belladonna, Berry, Bud, Bumblebee, Bunny and Burgundy, who gave equally nasty faces. "6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, fight!"

Blackjack disappeared into the dark air. Burgundy came charging at us with her swords out and yelling like a maniac. We quickly bombarded her with our laser vision, forcing her to retreat. I saw Barbie talking to the girls like she was giving orders. I then saw Blackjack appear behind her and strike her in the back of the head.

"Get with the program, Barbie!" Balrog yelled. "Don't think! Act!" Barbie swung around to strike back at Blackjack but he had ghosted again. It was impossible to see him in these conditions. We got wetter and wetter with each second that passed.

"Alright, Boys! CHARGE!" Balrog commanded. All of us boys flew straight at the girls and engaged them in close combat. I went up against Bud. I threw multiple punches at her chest and face, and she blocked half of them. Then I flipped over and attempted kick her down to the water, but she intercepted my foot, spun me around and threw me away. Before I could recover, she sent a bolt of chain lightning at me.

I yelled in pain. Normally her lightning bolts weren't so powerful, but by this time, I was drenched. And we all know what happens when water and electricity meet: pain! So I was phased. I only snapped out of it when I hit the water.

I was out. As soon as my head resurfaced, I looked around to see if anyone else was out. No one was. I was the first one out. "ARRRRRGGGH!" I yelled and splashed angrily. I hated not having a special power. I could really sympathize with Buttercup.

I floated onto my back and watched the fight take place.

Barbie flew over the boys and inhaled deeply. She then exhaled. A bluish-white mist came out of her mouth causing the raindrops in front of her to freeze solid and pelt most of the boys and Berry.

"BLOW ME UP!" Bomber tried to self-destruct, but his explosion was nullified by the heavy rain. When he rematerialized, Bumblebee, Bunny, and Burgundy seized him all at once. He stood no chance of beating them.

Bomber fell to the water. He was out. He growled once he took his first breath out of water.

Looking back up, I noticed that Blaze was having a similar problem. Taking on Bumblebee, he attempted to breathe fire on her when they caught each other's fists. Instead of a jet of flames, he got a smokescreen. Bumblebee coughed, but was otherwise unharmed. She started vibrating, holding tightly onto Blaze's fists. Blaze tried to pull away, but the shockwaves that Bumblebee produced were flowing into him and paralyzing him.

She let go and Blaze screamed in pain. Bumblebee then spiked him into the water with a splash. I growled, enraged that the girls had taken an early lead. I tried to get back into the game by cheating and flying out to help my brothers, but the water seemed to have Antidote X in it. Oh how my pride hurt me so much.

I could see that Balrog was thinking the same thing. He was yelling insults like a drill sergeant to the boys. "You idiots! Those are puffs! Not humans! They have superpowers! At least try to fight like a super-wimp!" By Utonium, the things Balrog came up with…

Burgundy attempted to slice apart Balrog's chest while he was screaming, but Brutus intercepted her with his force field. She bounced off the green ruff's like a basketball and growled at Brutus, who grinned wickedly. "Come on, Stabby! Let's dance!" he taunted.

Burgundy let loose and started recklessly slashing at Brutus, who blocked every swipe. She screamed in frustration.

Bumblebee meanwhile, had decided to take on Breaker. No doubt she thought he was an easy target, as did I, but we both got a big surprise. When Bumblebee charge at him like a bull, Breaker conjured up a club out of pure electricity and beaned her soaked body with it.

No doubt the impact and shock from the electro-bat was painful. She was stunned, and Breaker took that opportunity to whack her again with the bat, this time to the water. I smirked as she splashed into the water. She resurfaced, inhaled, and pouted.

"Where's all that girl power _now, _huh Bee?" Bomber mocked.  
"Oh, shut up!" she snapped. "I don't believe in girl power. That's Bunny's shtick."  
"Oh, yeah I can totally tell by how much that coward isn't fighting." Bomber pointed upwards at Bunny. She seemed to be hanging back behind the lines, afraid to battle her brothers. We did look fiercer and more intimidating than the girls, (not that I'm bragging) though not in the water, while we resembled shipwreck survivors.

Berry had her mouth open wide as she caught the heavy rain and drank many droplets. She closed her mouth and darted at Balrog and sprayed every last droplet onto him, angering him greatly. His skin started to turn pink.

Some of Berry's excess water hit Bumblebee. "ARGH! GROSS!" she yelled.  
"Oh chill out." I said. "You're already as wet as possible."

Berry then kneed Balrog in the groin. Would she have pulled this stunt on another ruff, he would have buckled in crossing his legs and wheezing "Uncle!" But when she used it on Balrog, he just cringed slightly and then fumed furiously. His skin turned bright crimson. He looked like he was about to blow a gasket.

He launched himself at Berry at a speed exceeding our normal flight velocity. He seized Berry by her throat and delivered nine punches to her face in a single second. Then he brought both his arms back, roared like a lion, and spiked the stunned Berry down to the water with the biggest splash yet.

She resurfaced after ten seconds, but instead of gasping she just yelled "I LOSE!" in a joyous tone that suggested the opposite had happened. She looked around hoping for a reception, but we were all too wet to laugh.

Brutus, by this time had driven Burgundy nuts. No matter how many times she swung her swords at him, he would put up his force field at the last second. And sometimes he would cackle. "Ugh! Stupid boy!" she cursed, pausing for second in midair. Blackjack appeared behind her and socked her left cheek. She was sent in Balrog's direction, unfortunately for her.

After spending three seconds with our leader, Burgundy joined us in the pool of defeat and shame, tying the game.

"Alright! Woo!" Brutus cheered. "Chop one up for teamwork!" He held up his hand hoping for high five. Blackjack ignored him and disappeared again. Balrog hit him the face. "Ow! What the hell, man?!"

"Shut up and kill them!" Balrog commanded. I would have been shocked if it wasn't Balrog who said that.

Suddenly Brutus was covered in indigo sparks and started flailing around helplessly. He was totally confused, but I could see exactly what was happening. Belladonna had snuck up underneath him and used her telekinesis on him. Her arms were pointing at him. When she pointed them at the water, Brutus zipped down helplessly into the water. "Gasp! Cheater!" he yelled, brushing his hair out of his face.

Belladonna attempted to do the same cheap thing to Balrog. She used her telekinesis on him and he came zipping down toward the water. Evidently he thought fast. He grabbed Belladonna as he passed by. "If I'm going down, then I'm taking you with me!" he yelled dramatically. Belladonna, stunned, failed to act in time. Her own spell was being used against her to a degree.

Splash! Balrog and Belladonna were out. That left Breaker and Blackjack, versus Barbie, Bunny, and Bud. I observed something peculiar about the remaining female combatants. It was in their coloration, I knew that, but what was it?

Breaker charged at Bunny with his electro-bat. He was getting a little in over his head if you ask me. It was like he had forgotten that he had super-strength and laser eyes. Bunny unleashed a sonic boom from her mouth which stopped Breaker in his tracks. Then Barbie blew icy wind over Breaker, freezing his nerves, and Bud struck him with lightning. He fell to the water and joined the defeated. That was just plain overkill.

"Good job, girls." Barbie said pompously. She put her hands on her hips. Bud folded her arms and looked down at us. Evidently they thought they had won. But they forgot about Blackjack.

Blackjack appeared aside Bunny and elbowed her in the face. "Ow!" she squeaked. She tried strike back at the dark ruff, but he was gone as soon as he appeared. Barbie came to Bunny's side. "Don't worry. As soon as he shows himself, we'll freeze him solid. No big dumb guys are gonna beat all three of us" she said. They stood back to back. Or floated, I should say.

Blackjack appeared above them five seconds later, grabbed them by their hair, and chucked their heads together eight times. He tossed them downwards, even the score again.

The guys in the water began cheering for Blackjack. Likewise, the girls rooted for Bud. Balrog, Berry, and I were silent.

Bud charged at Blackjack who disappeared at the last second. She growled. Blackjack kicked her backside. She flipped around and was quick enough get a hit in. Blackjack parried with her for a few seconds, before he turned to a shadow again.

"WHERE ARE YOU?!" she screamed. She didn't see it, but he was literally in the exact same spot as she was.

"Right here!" Blackjack echoed. Bud looked around, bewildered. Where did it come from? To her left she thought she saw something move and struck toward it, but missed. Blackjack struck her on the side of her head. She went spiraling down toward the water. When she splashed, the rain stopped and the sun came out.

"Game over. Boys win, 14 to 12." said Breaker's robot. The guys started cheering, myself included. Blackjack had taken out three equal opponents by himself! The looks on the girls ranged from disappointment (Barbie and Bunny) to outrage (Burgundy and Bud) to shock (Belladonna and Bumblebee).

The simulation ended and we stood on solid ground again. We became completely dry, which was a relief to many of us.

Brutus, Bomber and Blaze began complimenting Blackjack for being MVP. Then Bumblebee, Burgundy and Barbie got up in their faces and started accusing Blackjack of cheating, which sounded utterly ridiculous.

To make a long story short, this argument stressed the relationships between the male and female members of our family. Don't ask me why Balrog insisted on doing it this way. If he wanted to strengthen our relationships, he should have put us into pairs consisting of a boy and a girl each.

I just prayed to Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup that the sexual rivalry atmosphere would fade by the time we were on our mission to defeat Baron Morbucks.


	7. Equality

Equality

"Alright you lazies! Get your butts up and moving before I start calling them asses!" was what I awoke to. Balrog just loved to play the role of a drill sergeant.

It was about 5:30 AM. Despite the fact that we lived in outer space, and the sun did not rise and set regularly, we had adjusted our bodies to the Pacific Time zone.

The reason he woke us up so early was all part of the timing for the mission. At best, it took us 8 hours to reach the Earth on Breaker's shuttlecraft. We could definitely make better time by flying down there ourselves, but we had to bring along something to store our loot in.

Not really wanting to listen to Balrog's insults and think that they were being applied to me, I forced myself out of my bed and headed to the closet on the other side past Blackjack, Breaker, Bomber, and Brutus who were all still struggling to stay asleep. Blaze was already at the closet, and I met him as he was tightening his headband around his bandanna. It didn't look as weird as it sounded, really.

I was only wearing my white undershirt and purple pajama bottoms. I quickly, but tiredly put on my uniform while Balrog kept yelling insults at my brothers. "You call that waking up?! I've seen slugs go to the bathroom faster than you can move!" If I wasn't so tired I might have been chuckling instead of gagging.

I had just pulled my vest over my sweater when Brutus finally decided he'd had enough. "Alright! Alright! Shut up! I'm moving!" he said. He got out of bed and started slouching his way over to the closet like an electrocuted chimp.

Breaker pulled his orange covers his head. He wasn't coming on the trip, so he got to sleep in. Or not.

As my eyes finally adjusted to the light, I looked at Balrog and saw that he was smiling like a naughty schoolgirl. He was enjoying this. I should have figured. He loves being a jerk just like Berry likes being a maniac. At least, that's what was going through my grumpy, early-morning mind.

Balrog stomped over to Bomber's bed. Both he and Blackjack had refused to get up so far. So Balrog grabbed the foot of his bed and, grinning wickedly, he flipped Bomber's bed with him on it onto Blackjack's bed, making a Rowdyruff sandwich out of the two.

"Whoa-Oomph!" Bomber yelped, startled.  
"Wuhup!" Blackjack barked, equally surprised. "What the fu-!"

_"BUUZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!"_

Suddenly, there was a ridiculously loud noise like the buzzer of a shot clock that cut Blackjack off and scared the crap out of every one of us.

"What was that?" asked Balrog, Bomber and I. Balrog turned his now irritated gaze upon Breaker who had sat up in shock, but not confusion.

"Barbie had me construct profanity detectors and put them in every room in the house." Breaker explained, rubbing his right eye.  
"What? What for?" Balrog demanded.  
"For the kids. She didn't want them picking up on bad language."  
Balrog stared at him incredulously. "So every time we mutter so much as a G-O-S-H, we get our ears blown out?!"  
"Nah. Just the nine main swear words. Barbie thinks it'll encourage us to behave."  
"But I said the A-word."  
Breaker turned over in his bed. "It probably thought you were referring to donkeys." he said tiredly.

Balrog's look of incredulity turned into a thoughtful one. Then he grinned wickedly. "Nice… Now all I have to do to wake everyone is drop the F-bomb."

"Oh my Utonium." I thought in alarm. Balrog left the room to wake up the girls. I followed after him to see if they were already awake. Balrog stood in the doorway to the girls' room and I looked over his shoulder. The girls were awake but looked either very stunned or very grouchy.

"Alright ladies, let's get dressed! We gotta leave by 6:00! Be in the shuttle by then, or I'll get physical! MOVE IT!"

As Balrog turned to leave, almost bumping into me, he turned back around. "Oh yeah. Barbie, while we're out, I need you to research the government officials of all major counties. See if there's anyone in the high parts of society we can get on our side after we take down Morbucks."

"I'll get right on it." she offered, hopping out of her bed and out the door to the lab, still in her nightgown. I looked after her. She seemed to forget the tension between the two sexes.

I proceeded down the hallway that held the lab. On the other side was a door made not out of wood, but steel. It had a large, valve-like handle in the middle. I turned the handle and opened the door. I quickly passed through it and shut it again, so as not to let the warm air out.

There was a spiral staircase that led upwards. Not that we needed to use it, as I was already outside and could fly through the loop.

I headed towards the garage, which was disguised as a cave. A fugitive could never be too careful in disguising their homestead.

I headed into the garage and into the shuttlecraft. You may think it'd look pretty cool and futuristic, but it was old-fashioned to me. It was about forty years old and had poorly covered repairs plastered over the hull, which were hidden by an uneven coat of indigo paint. It ran on six wheels, was about the length of a small school bus, and only had one window up front.

The inside of the shuttlecraft was sort of like an ambulance. It was cramped, there were benches on the side, and two seats up front, seemingly isolated from the main room. I took my place up there as pilot.

Not long after, Blaze came in and strapped himself to the right bench, followed by Brutus, Balrog, Burgundy, Bud, Bumblebee, Blackjack, Bomber, Bunny, and Berry. In that order. For some reason, the guys sat on the right bench and the girls all sat on the left.

"Where's Belladonna?" I asked Burgundy.  
"You don't know?" she spat, rudely.  
"Uh… no."  
"She's not coming, idiot! She hardly ever does!" Bud snapped.  
"Whoa! Whoa! OK!" I said defensively. "I didn't know that. No need to get snappy with me."  
"Yeah, mind your manners, Bud." Balrog scolded. And he took the spot up front next to me as copilot.

"Geez ladies, is this getting personal? We beat you in a simple training exercise, and you snap at me for wanting to know the location of my sister?" I thought angrily.

Anyway, since Belladonna was not coming, that left one seat empty on the boys' side, which I'm sure was fine with the girls. I looked at Balrog.

"Come on, Armstrong! Waddaya waiting for? Let's get crackin'!" he commanded.  
"Where are we going Mr. Balrog, Sir?" I asked sincerely.  
"Citiesville. Let's move!"  
"Yessir!" I said, saluting. I could swear I heard Burgundy mutter "Suck-up."

I tapped in the coordinates into the SPS. I started the shuttlecraft and drove it out of the cave. And then we were off.

Most of the crew fell asleep within ten minutes of flying. I wish I could have done the same, but I was the best pilot next to Breaker. So I was by default the designated driver.

When I first went on a mission, I thought flying through space was a magnificent experience. The stars, the asteroids, Mars, Earth… But now it was dull. It is quite a shame when what should be an impossible experience is being taken for granted. I suppose I thought it was marvelous back then because I was scared.

Speaking of Mars, I heard that Duchess Morbucks, the grandmother of Baron, had deployed troops onto Mars in order to hunt us down. As we passed Mars within the hour, we saw the computer picked up human life forms on the surface of Mars, indicating that they were still there, looking for us.

At about that time I started getting tired, so I decided to butter Balrog up and see if he would let me get some sleep.

"Hey, Ball," I inquired.  
"Hm?" Balrog replied.  
"Why am I next in line for the throne again?"  
Balrog chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Because you are the only one who cares about the family staying together. I remember when you were little. You used to get upset if Blizzard or Blackjack wouldn't join us for a game of spaceball or a movie night. I've seen how much you adore those kids and vice versa. I really think they like you the most. Apart from me, of course. I mean, everyone loves me the most."

"Yes they do." I lied.  
Balrog chuckled again. "That's why I like ya so much Bane. 'Cause you're the second best of the best."  
"Yes, I know. But do you know why the girls are mad at us?"  
"Take it from me, Bane. They say that Hell has no fury like a scorned woman. They may say that guys are blinded by pride, but girls have pride too, they just won't admit it."  
"We would have lost that match if not for Blackjack.  
"Yeah well, they think we cheated. They won't let it go until they get their way."  
"And what _is_ their way?"  
"To have a puff lead the family. There's a reason there are males and females in this world. Men provide and lead, and women raise the kids and take care of the house. They don't like it that way."  
I raised an eyebrow, unsure of what he was trying to tell me. "And why not?"  
"Because men are stronger than women."  
"That's sexist."  
"Yes it is, but it's true. Men are stronger than women and women are smarter than men. In general, that is. It's an equal trade."  
I frowned. I was a little insulted by that. "So if women are smarter, then why don't they lead?"  
"Because men are stronger both physically and spiritually. The girls resent us for being in power more often. It's always been like that. Ever since the first Powerpuff Girls and the first Rowdyruff Boys met, it was always a war of the sexes, every time they met."  
"Maybe for the Boys, but for the Girls, it was a battle of good versus evil."  
"That's what they want us to think."  
"Who?"  
"Every puff who ever existed."

I said nothing else, nor did he for the next couple of minutes. What he said made sense, even if it was or was not a little prejudiced.

"Hey Ball, you think you could take over for me? I'm kinda falling asleep."  
"Yeah, sure." I put the shuttle on autopilot for a moment as I hopped to the back. I took the seat between the sleeping Blaze and Brutus and fell asleep in fifteen soft minutes.

I awoke to an air horn. Balrog, despite his ability to be a flatterer sometimes, was not gentle. My reaction was the same as everyone else's: A startled jump, ripping me out of my restraints and then a harsh closing of my eyes in reaction to the bright sunlight coming in the front window. It was dusk.

"Alright buds and babes!" Balrog barked from upfront. "We are coming in for a landing in the Citiesville National Woodlands! If my calculations are correct (and they are correct you fuzzy lumpkins, I can sense the doubt), our position will be a mile away from the Chemical X Plant. My tactics are simple. Crash and Smash. Move like Sonic the Hedgehog. Grab any and all liquids and powders. But first, I want everyone to pick a partner of the opposite sex."

All but that last part was normal to us. The guys and I looked at the girls in expectance. They returned out gazes with cold stony looks, save for Berry. It was silent for a few moments.

I was about to call out to Berry to be my partner, because it seemed like she would be the least unpleasant, but then Balrog called out "On second thought, let's make it ladies' choice." Oh thanks a lot, Beef-head.

To my surprise, Bumblebee spoke up immediately. "I'll go with Bane for this mission, because he's not a Gangrene Gangster." That was our way of saying douchebag. Blaze looked hurt.

"Well… Thanks for the compliment, Bee." I said. "Sure I'll go with ya." The rest of the guys looked at me, then the girls.

"I choose Moe!" said Berry.  
"Moe?" we all repeated.  
"Sure! Eeney, Meeney, Miney, Moe!" Her hand pointed at Bomber.

"Yeah, suck it dudes!" Bomber bragged. Blaze and I rolled our eyes while Blackjack and Brutus shot intimidating looks at Bomber.

Bud, Bunny, and Burgundy took their time. A full minute of silence and awkward stares passed before Bud cast her lot. "I'll go with Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes, 'cause he ain't a Gangrene Gangster either." Blaze blushed.

"And I'll go with Brutus, because he's funny." Bunny announced.  
Brutus grinned. "Yes!" he shouted gleefully. "I am _so _not the last one picked!"  
"I wouldn't pick you if you were a booger." Bud muttered. Bomber, Berry, and I chuckled and Brutus scowled.

By default that left Burgundy with Blackjack. The two voted most likely to tear each other's throats out in high school, but they seemed cool with it. I was relieved. It seemed that the subtle battle of the sexes had ended.


	8. Normality

**Sorry to those who are following my story for being so late. If I get more followers and reviews (feel free to review every chapter), then I promise that this will be updated more often. That being said, please enjoy (and review)!**

* * *

Normality

The shuttlecraft touched down in the branches of several tall trees. We were parked 130 feet above the ground. We could have made it to the ground, but it was safer this way. We couldn't have any snoopers doing their thing with our property.

"We move out the moment the sun sets." Balrog commanded. "Should be in the next fifteen minutes or so. Hydrate yourselves and get your grab bags ready." We spent a few minutes chugging down as much water as we could and emptying our grab bags of stolen junk we hadn't bothered to take out on our last mission.

The sun started setting. "Aten, hut!" Balrog shouted. We all stood up in separate lines of attention. "Keep your bags on your back and don't let your partner out of your sight."

Once there no sign of the sun left, Balrog opened the door to the shuttle. "Let's go." he said softly but mysteriously. He then flew off and we all poured out of the shuttle and started following him through the trees. Bumblebee was at my side.

I wondered if people from the outside of the forest could see the light streaks we made as we flew toward our destination.

After about a minute of flying, we came to the edge of the forest. Across a small river sat the plant. Three ugly smoke clouds issued from its chimneys. The lights inside were a dim orange.

We flew slowly over the river so as not to make light streaks. Each pair positioned themselves at a window. We took a look inside. There were very futuristic machines turning black liquids into red. A robotic machine was assembling weapons that shot darts and shotgun shells.

This was also where Antidote X weapons were serviced. We saw another machine pumping, refilling plenty of used weapons with the vile liquid.

There about thirty scientists and eight guards in the room. A few of the scientists were tending to some of the machines. Most of them were gathered around a long table with clipboards and notes and beakers filled with strange liquids and a lot of other scientific mumbo jumbo. The guards stood at the exits like well-trained Victorian soldiers.

"Alright bozos and airheads!" Balrog said into our headsets. "Time to show the humans who's boss! Get in there! Smash the guards and the machines! Take everything you can carry! Go! NOW!"

We all smashed through the windows and dropped to the floors of the lab dramatically. The employees were all startled out of their wits. Before the guards could react, Burgundy and Blackjack had dashed toward a pair and slew both of them. We all flew in zigzags a foot above the humans. Bud and Blaze struck out another pair, this time using their fists. Bumblebee and I darted for the third in our zigzag pattern. We snatched the guns out of their hands and gave them a knuckle sandwich, no problem. Berry and Bomber had seized the last pair, getting a few darts in their chests. Lucky for us, our vests were more than bulletproof.

The scientists were running around and screaming in panic like idiots. Since they were innocent bystanders, we weren't allowed to kill them. So we just knocked their light out. It was fun.

"Seal the doors!" Balrog commanded. He, Bunny, Brutus, Bumblebee, and I used our laser vision to weld the doors shut. Then we quickly took our grab bags of our backs and proceeded to shove every chemical and powder we could into them.

While the rest of us picked the table clean, Blaze and Bud tore down the larger machine to extract both the Chemical X and Antidote X from it.

"Oh yeah, Breaker said he wanted an electron microscope or whatever." Balrog said, looking over the list of Breaker's required items.

"Found one!" Berry chimed. What she held up was certainly a microscope, but did it fit Breaker's standard? It looked pretty normal to me.

"Good job, Boysenberry. Bring it!" Balrog commanded.  
"Uh, Berry?" Bomber inquired tapping her shoulder. "We don't have any more room."  
"No problem! I'll just eat it!" said Berry, not missing a beat. She opened wide.

"Berry, no!" yelled me, Balrog, and Bumblebee at the same time. She ignored us, but luckily Bomber snatched it out of her hands and hit her on the head with it.

"Hello!" she yelled, stupidly. Bumblebee took the microscope and what looked like its cover. Once she covered it, she handed it back to Berry. "You guys suck. Well, down the wormhole!" She swallowed it like a pill.

I watched Blaze fill milk jugs with chemical X. A thought occurred to me. "Hey Balrog, are we gonna be making any more kids? It seems like we're getting' a lot of that goop."

"Not in the near future. This is purely for the medicine we need. We're gonna be making a ton of pills. We _will _need every protection possible against the defenses at Morbucks Manor." Balrog stopped once we heard the whirring of helicopters. Most helicopters today looked like the Bat from the Dark Knight Rises. And they carried our kryptonite. "Alright, people let's wrap it up! We got company coming."

Frightened, we grabbed whatever we could within ten feet of us, shoved it into our grab bags and made for the broken windows. We all came to a halt once we passed through the shattered glass.

There were ten choppers waiting for us outside. And they had us surrounded. Their weapons glowed red, mocking us. "Puffruffs, fly to the ground, drop your merchandise, and surrender, or be fired upon." commanded a surly officer from a speakerphone. "This is your only warning. You have five seconds."

I was tempted to comply. I was oh so jealous of the original Powerpuff Girls. To fly throughout the world safely and without fear…

"Bomber, blow the factory." Balrog commanded.  
"Kaboom?" Bomber asked, surprisingly reluctant.  
"No, Boom-Ka! Of course, Kaboom!"  
"But the antidote X…!"  
"I just gave you an order, college boy!"

Bomber flew back into the laboratory. "YOU'LL NEVER TAKE US ALIVE, COPPERS!" Balrog bellowed. Bomber exploded at that moment, sending the factory up in a fiery blue mushroom cloud. "ATTACK!"

Slightly blinded, by the explosion, the choppers hesitated for a brief moment, which was all me and Bumblebee needed. We scattered, confusing the choppers so that we could get a good shot at them. They fired all around recklessly. Unfortunately, them putting their own lives at risk also put ours in greater danger. I almost got hit by their laser cannons.

"Bane! Stay close to me!" Bumblebee yelled. We had apparently been separated and I did not notice.

"Sorry. We're gonna take that chopper for ourselves, Bee. Breaker could use some spare parts."

"Nice to see you're still thinking of others…" Bumblebee muttered indifferently. "But I say we use it against the X-Jerks!"

"Yes, that was part of the plan, too!" Bumblebee and I shot towards a straggling jet. It was undamaged and the crew within seemed to be afraid of us. I'm sure they would have fired on us given the chance, but we had the pilots by their throats in a second and a half of them knowing we were coming for them. Then we moved them out of our way, hoping they could swim.

Then we had some fun firing missiles at the remaining choppers. We took out three before they got wise to us and turned their attention toward me and Bumblebee. "Oh, shnikies." we both said, grimly.

We tried to maneuver away from them, but they had better training in using this vehicle than we did. And they shot us right above Bumblebee's seat.

A bright orange glow filled up the cab and I shut my eyes tight. Then I heard Bumblebee moan. "Bee?" I inquired. Her moaning continued growing louder. My stomach nearly imploded. "Bee? Bumblebee?" Mustering up the courage I opened my eyes and found my partner's clothes frying and skin peeling off. She was leaning forward, slipping into unconsciousness. Or perhaps death…

Panicking, I shot out of the chopper and pushed it into the forest, heading for the shuttlecraft. "Bane, what are you doing!?" Bud yelled.

"Bumblebee's been hit. I'm getting her to safety."  
"You can't take that copter back with us!"  
"Why not? Breaker could use a Christmas present!"  
"That vehicle is the most traceable machine in the world! Every separate device has a tracker! Even the metal is traceable! Get rid of it!"

Grumbling, I tore it apart and grabbed my sister and moved us further towards the shuttlecraft. Right as we reached it I saw a lot of red-orange lights coming from behind us, like a lower layer of stars.

"Holy shnikies!" Balrog swore. "We got a whole armada comin' in! Retreat, peoples! Bud, you get Blaze to safety. Berry, get Bomber. Everyone get to the craft right this instant! Brutus, you have to propel the ship into orbit and shield it from enemy fire!"

"Roger, Dodger." Brutus replied. I laid Bumblebee down on the bench, so she took up half of it. She was still alive, that was good. I opened up the floorboards and pulled out a bottle of Medicine X. I began sliding the turquoise contents down Bumblebee's throat.

She stabilized right as everyone else made it back to the shuttle. Bomber and Blaze were placed on the benches as well. Bomber was unconscious and covered with ash. Blaze was conscious but visibly rattled and weakened.

Balrog rudely swiped the Medicine X out of my hands and handed it to Blaze. "Drink, Blaze. You're weak." he ordered.

"But… Bomber's weaker than me… he needs it more…" Blaze muttered weakly. Balrog smacked him.  
"I said drink, boy scout!" Balrog commanded savagely.  
"But, Bomber…"  
"Bomber will be fine you self-righteous prat! Now start drinking before I force it down your throat!"

Blaze did as he was told. "Are we ready?" Brutus asked through the com link. I looked around and did a headcount. Brutus was the only one still outside. I was frightened at first, but then I remembered Brutus's orders from Balrog.

"Yes, Brutus! We _are_ ready! I don't know why you don't have the shield up yet!" Bud answered for Balrog.

The plane lifted up and started ascending to the heavens. I took my place at the pilot's seat and watched us rise.

We were bombarded by at least a hundred helicopter lasers. Right then, Brutus's force field was the only thing keeping us alive.

A minute and a half of flying, the bombardment stopped. I turned on the engines and started flying the ship manually. Brutus stepped inside. Balrog and Bunny tended to the injured. We were all drenched in sweat from the shock and brutality of the mission. Our nerves were rattled from the near-death experience.

Yes sir, it was just another day at the office.

* * *

The ride home was relatively uneventful, save for Berry's vain attempts to entertain us with her penguin-like special power. Blaze fell asleep soon.

We finally landed at our asteroid abode. Feeling too tired to work, Balrog allowed to go inside and get some rest. We would unload the shuttlecraft tomorrow morning.

But once we came inside, resting became the last thing we wanted to do. In the corner of our living room, our Christmas tree was standing, decorated heavily and with eleven presents sitting underneath it. "Welcome home!" Barbie greeted, evidently grateful that we were all still alive. "Come in! Sit! We have some Christmas gifts ready!"

We celebrated Christmas whenever we wanted. Just an FYI.

Beast, Bullseye, Brandy and Bayonet rocketed into the room enthusiastically and started pushing us toward the tree and shouting things like "You're here!"

"Come on! Come on! Let's get to business!"  
"We have some awesome, awesome presents for you guys."  
"Hey wassup, guys? How'd it go?"  
"Come on, let's party!"

Oh those kids… so cute I just wanna noogie their heads until their skulls are ground away! But for now, I digress.

"You're back!" said Breaker, coming with his goggles over his eyes. "What's the damage this time?"

"Oh, nothing a little Medicine X couldn't restore." Bunny reported happily.  
"You're welcome." Breaker replied, folding his arms.  
"Right. Thank you, Breaker. You and Barbie are miracle-workers!"  
Breaker turned his attention to Balrog. "You got everything we need?" he asked.

Balrog just made his way to the couch and collapsed on it. "I sure hope so. I'm pretty sure we frightened and angered the humans more than ever."

"That's an understatement." Breaker stated. "Maybe after you open your presents, we can watch a few news reports?"

"After the presents, I'm going to bed! So let's get this over with."  
"Wonderful!" said Barbie. "Beast, if you could Balrog his present…"

"Yeah!" Beast rumbled. He quickly fetched the crimson gift from under the tree and gave it to our tuckered out leader. "Age before beauty!"

"Why you little…!" Balrog reached for Beast's throat but only caught the gift. Shrugging, he opened it up with all of us watching. He pulled out a crimson cowboy hat with a studded black leather sash and a Rowdyruff Boy Skull. "Wow, cool." was all he had energy enough to say. He put it on over his cap and headed towards his room.

"Party pooper!" Bayonet complained. "He didn't even try it out!"  
"Oh who needs him, anyway?" Bullseye snapped. "Bane, it's your turn!"

Bullseye handed me a purple present. I looked at Breaker and Barbie who looked expectant. "We made 'em ourselves!" My missionary partners had all sat down in exhaustion, but still looked like they wanted to enjoy some Christmas cheer.

I tore the gift open. Inside, I found an exact replica of the mask Tom Hardy used to portray Bane in The Dark Knight Rises. It was beyond awesomeness.

"Whoa, way cool Bane!" Bomber commented.  
"Yeah, now you're an official supervillain!" Bumblebee joked. Brutus and I laughed at that.

I tried the mask on. It tightened around my cranium putting some stress on my hair. It felt perfect. "How does it look?" I asked.

"Scary." said Bunny and Brandy.  
"It fits." said Barbie, Blaze, and Bayonet.  
"Monkey awesome!" said Bullseye, Brutus, and Bumblebee.  
"Rat-a-tat-tat and chicken fat!" Berry blurted out.  
"What's this switch do?" Blackjack asked, coming up from behind me and flipped a switch of some sort.

"What switch, Blackjack?" I asked. Everyone in the room gasped, including me. What I had just said was translated into Hardy's Bane voice.

"Whoa!" said Beast.  
"Dude, do a line from the movie." Blaze requested.

Impressed with my new toy, I thought of the movie and tried to remember Bane's best line. "It doesn't matter who we are. What matters is our plan. No one cared who _I _was, 'til I put on the mask." I quoted. It sounded perfect.

"Wow!" They all moaned an impressed sound.

For the next twelve minutes or so, everyone who went on the mission opened their presents. I noticed that a lot of them were enhancers to their special powers. Blaze got a mask too, only this one had functions to tame and control his fire breath. Bumblebee got a device that looked like a fan. She was to wear it on her back and it would increase the power of her shockwaves. Berry got a mini-gun shaped like a penguin.

I walked up to Breaker with my eyes looking stern. I still had the mask on.

"Wassup, Bane? You like the mask?" Breaker asked, casually. I didn't give him a response right away. I stared at him intently and waited until he frowned and opened his eyes all the way.

"Most everyone here has been given a gift based on their special power. My gift is merely a pun upon my name."

"Well, you don't have…"  
"I know. Therefore not honoring the same code for me as you did the others… wouldn't one consider it offensive?"  
"I… I… didn't know what…"

I decided to let him off the hook. I turned off Tom Hardy's voice. "I'm just fooling, man! I love it!" I said, giving him the bro hug. He sighed in relief.


End file.
